


Not Beautiful Because It Lasts

by No_1_Maximoff



Category: Avengers, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-06-23 15:11:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15609024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/No_1_Maximoff/pseuds/No_1_Maximoff
Summary: In the aftermath of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Wanda Maximoff struggles to cope with the loss of her brother Pietro, as well as adjusting to life as a new Avenger.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I try to update this as often as possible (as the chapters are often quite short) so please check back frequently for updates!

_**Chapter 1**_  
Wanda watched as the door to her new room shut, leaving her alone. Sitting on the bed, she took in her surroundings. Her room was simple, yet more grand than anything she’d ever had before. It wasn’t too big, which was oddly relieving. Back home, she never lived in anything more than a tiny apartment. There was a television resting atop a dark wooden dresser. A matching wood desk and shelves in the other corner. Some pretty decorative lights, shaped in the likeness of some sort of lantern, was a nice touch. The floor was covered in a soft grey carpet that your feet sunk into when you walked. The colours in the room were muted, just plain greys and greens. It was quite soothing in a way Wanda liked. The bed was the most shocking to her, oddly enough. It was so large and soft, unlike anything she’d ever seen. Once again, she was reminded of back home. Sokovia. Years ago. Two tiny beds, more like cots, lying on opposite ends of the room. One for her. One for him... Wanda quickly shut out the thought. It was the last thing she wanted to think about. She flopped back onto the bed, thoroughly enjoying how she sank into the blankets and pillows. She could get used to this. Wanda shut her eyes. I could use some sleep, she thought. Everything that had happened in the last 48 hours was such a blur. The city. The battle. Ultron. The explosion. The ambulances. The planes. The shuffling back and forth between locations until, finally, here. It was peaceful here, a welcome change from the action. But, it was... lonely. She was alone. An unusual thought. It occurred to her that she was almost never alone. He was always there. _No. No. Don’t think about it. Him. No, not the time. Just enjoy yourself, you’re safe for once._ It was no use. _Pietro._ The name was burned in her mind. Repeating itself, over and over again, in a vicious cycle. _He’s gone._ There was no denying it, no ignoring it. She could only push him out of her mind for so long. He is... was... a part of her! She can’t just forget. Wanda jumped off the bed and looked frantically for her bag. _I left them in there! Where is the damn bag?_ Then, she found her jacket and reached into the pocket. Her hand found the small picture, a Polaroid type printout. The edges were slightly torn up and worn from the years. Wanda’s eyes started to tear up as she held it in her hands. The little picture. She found some tape and taped it to the wall. Next to the bed. Like home. After staring at the picture for some time, she collapsed on the bed and cried like she had for the last two days.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a little short, but they should get longer soon :)

Wanda was awoken by the bright morning light shining through the windows. She realized that she had fallen asleep in her clothes. All of a sudden, memories from last night, as well as the last few days, flooded her mind. Pushing it all back, she noticed it was almost noon.  _I’m starving. I wonder if it’s too late for breakfast,_ she thought. Wanda was feeling slightly off, not necessarily sick, just...off. Despite that, she rolled out of bed, figuring she could find her bag after she grabbed some food. The Avengers facility was huge. That also made it remarkably easy to get lost in. After a good 10 minutes of wandering around aimlessly, Wanda finally stumbled upon the kitchen. Rubbing her eyes from fatigue, she opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk. Then, she scavenged the countless cupboards until she found the cereal. She turned around only to find someone drinking coffee at the island in front of her. “Hey,” the person said nonchalantly. Out of fright, she tossed the cereal box into the air. However, just as quickly, she used her powers to catch it and levitate it slowly to the counter. As the red glow dissipated from her fingertips, she realized it was Clint. He stifled a laugh, then grinned at Wanda. “Morning sleepyhead. We were wondering if you’d ever get up.” Wanda shook her head. “I suppose it’s a little late for breakfast,” she said, trying to sound calm after the fright he had given her. She started to pour the cereal before realizing she didn’t have a bowl. “Looks like you’re still a little lost here,” Clint said as he reached into a cabinet to her right and pulled out a cereal bowl. Wanda didn’t say anything as she gathered up spilled cereal. Clint stopped, looking concerned. “You okay kid? You seem a bit out of it.” His voice had changed from the usual lighthearted tone to very concerned. Wanda just stopped, then sighed: “Yeah, I’m... fine.” That didn’t change the worried look on his face. “Are you sure you’re fine,” he asked. No. I’m not fine. Most certainly not fine. Nothing is fine. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said quietly. “Look kid, I know what’s wrong. Believe me, I’m just as upset as you are-“. “I said I don’t want to talk about it!” Wanda immediately wanted to take it back. She had just... snapped. She looked up at Clint, who looked hurt, probably just as hurt as she felt. She tried to come up with an apology: “I-“ He smiled weakly, cutting her off: “Don’t worry about it. I’ll leave you be. Just know that I’m here, if you ever do want to talk.” With that, he grabbed his coffee mug, gave Wanda a little wave, and exited the kitchen. Left alone once again, Wanda had lost her appetite. She didn’t know what came over her, what made her so angry. She felt awful for lashing out at Clint like that.  _He was just being nice. He was just showing he cared. He knows what I’m feeling. He was there too._  Regardless, she plopped down on a seat and ate the cereal in silence. Afterwards, she set off to find her things, while attempting to block out any memories or thoughts that pushed their way into her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the chapters are short and spaced out but they should start becoming longer and hopefully they'll be posted much quicker :)

Wanda’s bed was now covered in a small pile of what one could only describe as random junk. To Wanda, however, it was much more than that. She sat down and carefully began to sort through the pile. Some old clothes, back from when she was living Sokovia. Despite them being hopelessly worn out, she couldn’t bear to part with them. She admired one shirt in particular: a pretty blouse in the most gorgeous shade of red. Pietro had bought it for her when she turned 16. _He probably stole it, now that I think about it._ Wanda smiled. She hated how he would steal, but it was still something. A memory. Shaking her head, Wanda folded up the old clothes and put them away, along with the fancy new clothes Stark had provided her with. Back to the pile. The next item wasn’t technically hers. It was a pair of blue and silver running shoes, the soles almost completely destroyed from withstanding high speeds. _He went through so many shoes. How did these even last?_  Once again smiling, Wanda remembered how despite being taller, she could always fit her brother’s shoes. Not that she had ever used them, since he went through them like tissues. This pair, however, was special. She borrowed them from him once as a joke, but then never gave them back. Not that she could. Not now. Not ever. She shook her head again, as if trying to shake loose the thought of him. For the sake of it, Wanda put on the shoes. _Next item_. A plain, gold necklace. To anyone else, it might not have the appearance of something special. For Wanda, that was not the case. It meant everything to her. If you know where to slide the edge of your nail, it will pop open. Inside is a small picture. It was so tiny that one could only make out the image by holding it up and squinting. Doing so, Wanda's smile turned to a frown. It was a picture of Pietro, a rare image because he wasn't standing beside her.  _Inseparable._ That was the word most people used to describe them. Wanda carefully clasped the delicate chain around her neck. The small locket hung just over her heart. She recalled how she would wear it often, but not all the time.  _I think I'll always wear this. For him. What else could I do?_   With her mood now sullen, Wanda continued to clean. For about half an hour, she sorted through her possessions and put everything away. Afterwards, she lay back on her bed, admiring the new items in her room. In her peripheral vision, she noticed the clock. 2:48? Training is at 3:00! Wanda ran out of her room, forgetting to take off the worn running shoes. She arrived at the training area panting and out of breath. There, she saw Cap- no, Steve. The girl was with him too, Natasha. Wanda was acutely aware that all the other “trainees” were staring at her. 3:05. Why does this place have to be so big? Steve spoke: “A little late, Wanda. But don’t worry about it, you probably don’t know your way around yet.” Wanda nodded absently, taking in everyone around her. There was Sam, the man with the wings. And- what’s his name?- right, Rhodes. There was one person, however, that caught Wanda’s attention. The red... man? Machine? She wasn’t sure what to call him. Regardless, she couldn’t help but stare. Vision, they called him. An odd name, to say the least, but at least he has one. It makes him seem more... human. Suddenly, he looked over at her with a confused expression. In a panic, Wanda quickly turned away. Luckily, Natasha started talking, making Wanda forget about her embarrassment: “Okay everyone. Today isn’t going to be much of a ‘training’ day. Steve and I will simply be assessing your abilities.” Wanda followed their instructions, but, strangely, she kept finding her mind drifting to Vision. “So Wanda,” Steve began. “How are you?” “I’m alright,” she lied. He made a face that made it very obvious he didn’t believe her, but didn’t press any further. “So, this form here says some very big words describing your abilities, but I have no idea what any of this means so I’m gonna ignore it.” He laughed. It was warm and made Wanda feel more comfortable. She doubted she would have felt the same with Natasha, who has a cold air about her. Steve cleared his throat: “So, show me what you can do.” Wanda thought for a moment, then brought up the red glow to her hands. “I can do this. I’m not sure what it is or what to call it.” Steve nodded, then asked, “What can you do with it?” Wanda said nothing more but showed him. She could shoot out bursts of the red glow. She could levitate things. She could make a sort of shield with it. “Seems versatile,” Steve commented. Wanda went on: “I can also read minds.” Steve momentarily looked panicked. “Don’t worry, I’m not reading yours. Anyways, I can also-“ Wanda stopped. _I can make people have visions. Their worst fears. Or dark memories. I can hurt people from the inside. Like I did to you..._ “Wanda,” Steve said, snapping her out of her trance. “Mental manipulation,” she said plainly. Before Steve could comment, she continued: “I can also fly. Kind of.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The songs mentioned in this chapter are "Brother" by Anna Pancaldi, "Saturn" by Sleeping at Last, and "Little Boy" by Barns Courtney. I'd honestly recommend "Little Boy," it's a good song. Also, thanks for reading, it means a lot! If you have any advice, feel free to comment because I'm always looking to improve :)

_“Brother, where have you gone from here, it’s been so many days since I’ve felt your warmth your rays around me, brother, where have you gone from here, the years, they’re walking on without you, all alone, come find me please.”_  Wanda found herself singing this song most frequently. In the past few weeks, life had seemed... empty. She wasn’t happy. She wasn’t sad either. She felt numb, like all the emotion in her body had been drained away. The best Wanda could describe it was a hole. There was a hole in her. She was still her, but something was missing. She often asked herself why this hole was here. But she knew. She knew exactly what - or rather, who - caused the endless feeling of emptiness. Clearly, the others could see it as well. They all tried to help, they truly did. Stark arranged for a therapist to speak with her, which really didn’t do much. Talking about him just made her feel worse. She went a few times before telling Stark she just couldn’t go anymore. There were other suggestions, pieces of advice tossed into conversations in an effort to show they cared. Wanda disregarded all of them. Except for one. One of the more interesting suggestions she was given came from Sam, who she’d known little about aside from the fact that he was the guy who used the wings. He suggested an instrument. So, for no particular reason other than “why not,” Wanda bought a guitar. A simple acoustic guitar. Nothing fancy. And she began to play. Wanda picked it up quite fast, going through song after song. Eventually, she grew to recognize that the instrument, the music, made her feel better. No, not better. Just... less bad. When there was no one around, Wanda would also sing with the music. There were certain songs in particular she enjoyed to play and sing to. Saturn was a beautiful song, and Little Boy reminded her of home. But, she still found herself drawn to one song in particular. Brother. She knew what it was about. She knew why she sang it. In fact, the first time she played it, she cried. With good reason, she thought. It was remarkably hard for Wanda to talk about her loss with others. Whenever it came up, she’d simply change the subject. But with the music, it was different. The emotion, the words, they just flowed out of her. It was when she let it all go. And it felt good. Like with every note, the hole would fill, if only for a moment. Of course, they hole was still there when she stopped singing, but still. It was comfort, and comfort was rare to Wanda these days.

                                    ...

Vision stood with his head resting on the door. Listening. Her voice was so beautiful. Like... an angel. He was still working in his speech. How to use the countless expressions and such.  How to sound normal, not like an Android but a human. Which was precisely the problem. Vision was an Android, and frequently forgot so. Completely distracted by the singing on the other side of the door, Vision accidentally tumbled straight through the door. The source of the voice dropped their guitar and jumped a foot into the air. He realized, after quickly attempting to regain his composure, that it was Wanda. He felt embarrassed. Needless to say, it did not feel good.  _Not a good emotion_ , he noted. He tried to speak but the words just came out as a jumble: “Oh, I- I mean, I’m terribly sorry, I was, I didn’t mean to, I-“ He stopped himself when he saw her face. She didn’t even look upset, despite that being how she should be. She was... smiling. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. Vision felt another unfamiliar emotion. It was... love?  _No, not exactly. It was... I’m not sure, actually._  Shaking his head, Vision let out a nervous chuckle: “Right, still getting used to the whole ‘going through walls’ thing. I should be going.” He started to walk to the door, but stopped momentarily to say: “I think your singing is quite extraordinary, by the way.” She blushed and muttered a quiet “thanks.” Vision left the room, feeling more confused than he had ever felt within the few weeks of his existance.


End file.
